Salema, Portugal: No Soup for You!

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At the small guest house A Mare, a regal view of the ocean.
At the small guest house A Mare, a regal view of the ocean.

We were advised to visit Salema by my friend Dick Griffith, whom I traveled with before and who knows the kinds of places we enjoy. Boy, was he right. We set out last night for dinner to one of the three oceanfront restaurants here and we made the right choice. Mira Mar Casa do Pasta.

After a wait for a table we finally got ours, We ended up sitting next to a couple who grew up one street away from my friend Paul in Newton Massachusetts!

The royal view from the balcony of AMare guesthouse in Salema.
The royal view from the balcony of A Mare guesthouse in Salema.

That set the scene for the evening of convivial dining and sharing, and the squid ink pasta with seafood was truly remarkable. The best part was when Paul asked the chef how he made the dish. The answer was “no way I don’t want to tell you.”

And try to use credit cards?  Forget it.

It was almost like we were in the Seinfeld soup shop episode with better soup and a beachfront view swapped for Manhattan neighborhood.

At the guesthouse, perched high on the hill above the Atlantic, all there is to see are whitewashed houses and the blue ocean. It’s an absolutely wonderful place and I wish we were staying longer.

We will head over to the national park on the other side of the Algarve where we’ll meet up with the local official for a hike and some information about the region.

Next time I come to Salema we’re staying a week!